Garment hanger

ABSTRACT

Several embodiments of a garment or pants hanger are provided, particularly constructed of a plastic material, comprising arcuate yoke means having a spring action, grippers adapted to grip the garment, and hook means for hanging the hanger. The yoke means are spring-biased to maintain the grippers in a closed position to retain a garment therebetween. The grippers are opened in the various embodiments by either squeezing a pair of hook means, squeezing a pair of arm means, or squeezing the yoke means which is looped on itself in a particular embodiment.

United States Patent 1 1 George et :11.

[ 1 Dec. 2, 1975 1 1 GARMENT HANGER [76] Inventors: Paul J. George, PO. Box 86.

Brecksville, Ohio 44141; M. Ted Raptes, 21 1 1 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va. 22202 [22] Filed: Sept. 27, 1973 121] Appl. No.: 401,292

[52] U.S. Cl. 223/96; 24/255 G; 24/D1G. 18; 24/84 H [51] Int. Cl. A47J 51/94; A471 51/96 [58] Field of Search... 223/91, 96; 24/255 SL, 24/255 GC, 255 GP, 137 R, 84 H, 252 DP. 84 R, 255 A,'D1G. 18

2,885,758 5/1959 Russo et a1. 24/255 GP 3,048,312 8/1962 Birnbaum 223/96 3,063,749 11/1962 Struble ct a1. 24/D1G. 18 3,246,376 4/1966 Vazquez 4/252 DP 3,415,432 12/1968 Caves 223/96 3,589,573 6/1971 Battles 223/96 3,616,497 6/1970 Esposito 24/255 A 3,698,607 10/1972 Batts 223/96 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1.058.094 2/1967 United Kingdom 24/255 A Primary Examiner-George H. Krizmanich [57] ABSTRACT Several embodiments of a garment or pants hanger are provided, particularly constructed of a plastic material, comprising arcuate yoke means having a spring action, grippers adapted to grip the garment, and hook means for hanging the hanger. The yoke means are spring-biased to maintain the grippers in a closed position to retain a garment therebetween. The grippers are opened in the various embodiments by either squeezing a pair of hook means, squeezing a pair of arm means, or squeezing the yoke means which is looped on itself in a particular embodiment.

4 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 Sheet 10f3 3,923,213

US. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,923,213

FIG.12

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GARMENT HANGER BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION This invention relates to a novel improved, simplified garment hanger, and more particularly to a device for gripping and hanging clothing articles such as trousers, skirts and the like.

Conventional prior art garment hangers, readily available, are usually made from wire or wood and combinations thereof. Most of the well known types of hangers grip the trousers near the cuffs andpermit the trouser to hang free therefrom. This type of hanger is shown in US. Pat. Nos. 3,070,270, 3,262,617 and 3,362,594. Other types of hangers are adapted to fit into the cuffs of trousers, or the hanger is adapted to grip, by an external squeezing action a top part of a grament or the cuffs of trousers. These devices, although accomplishing the desired result, are somewhat complicated and cumbersome to use and relatively expensive to manufacture, requiring several components to be assembled together.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provide a simplified garment or pants hanger adapted to simply grip a top portion of the garment permitting it to hang freely.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simplified garment or pants hanger made completely of a plastic material.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simplified garment or pants hanger having a spring action for gripping a portion of the garment, which is present in the plastic structure of the hanger.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment or pants hanger wherein the operation of the hanger is simple and direct, and permits the garment to be gripped in one simple action.

The above objects along with others will be readily apparent by referring to the following description and claims of preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of a garment hanger of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the hanger shown in FIG. 1 in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the hanger shown in FIG. 1 in the open position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 showing one type of gripping surface used in the garment hanger of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of a garment hanger of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of another type of gripping surface used in the garment hangers of this invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of a third embodiment of a garment hanger of the invention;

FIG. 10 is an end elevational view of the hanger shown in FIG. 9:

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 1111 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of a fourth embodiment of a garment hanger of this invention;

FIG; 13 is an end elevational view of the hanger shown in FIG. 12; FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of a fifth embodiment of a garment hanger of this invention; and

FIG. 15 is an end elevational view of the garment hanger shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the development of the garment hanger embodiment of FIGS. 14 and I5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-4 depict the first embodiment of a garment hanger of the invention. The numeral 20 generally denotes a unitary hanger device manufactured completely from a plastic material by molding or extrusion as will be explained more fully hereinafter. The device generally comprises a pair of upwardly extending hooks 22 and 24 having a conventional configuration, a yoke 26, and a pair of grippers 28 and 30.

The hooks are vertical and parallel to each other and are adapted to provide two functions. One function is for hanging the hanger and garment on a horizontal pole, and the second function is to be squeezed together, as shown in FIG. 3, to separate the grippers 28 and 30 from each other. The hooks 22 and 24 are joined to the sides of the yoke 26 by vertical members 23 and 25, respectively, which are unitary extensions of the hooks.

The yoke 26 has a generally arcuate or curved, crosssectional configuration between the vertical members 23 and 25. At its midpoint 27, the thickness is less than the rest of the yoke. The yoke has a spring action function, due to the nature of plastic material, biased to keep the grippers 28 and 30 in a closed position as shown in FIG. 2. On squeezing the hooks 22 and 24 towards each other, the spring action of the yoke permits the grippers 28 and 30 to be separated as shown in FIG. 3. The spring action of the yoke is designed to flex particularly at the midpoint 27 because of the thinner portion. However, although the thinner portion 27 functions to advantage, it is within the concept of this invention to use a yoke having the same thickness throughout, which will also function with a spring action.

The grippers 28 and 30 are adapted to grip between them a pair of trouser cuffs, the top hem of a skirt, and the like. Each gripper comprises an inner gripping surface 29, adapted to frictionally hold a garment by the squeezing spring action of the yoke 26 when the grippers are in the closed position. The surface 29 shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is a series of parallel longitudinal ridges on each gripper, preferably angled slightly upwardly.

When using hanger 20, the two cuffs of trousers, or the hems of a skirt, are put together, the hooks 22 and 24 are squeezed together to separate the grippers 28 and 30, and while separated, the cuffs are merely placed between the grippers, the hooks are then released permitting the grippers to grip or clamp the cuffs between them, whereby the remainder of the trousers are allowed to hand free. The hanger and trousers can then be hung on a horizontal clothes pole, or the like, by means of the hooks 22 and 24. It is to be noted that the hooks 22 and 24 provide a certain amount of horizontal separation between adjacent hangers on a clothes pole, whereby adjacent trousers are kept somewhat separated, thereby permitting the trousers to hang freely without interference from adjacent trousers or garments. In addition, when it is desired to remove a pair of trousers from the hanger, it is not necessary to remove the hanger from the clothes pole, it being merely necessary to squeeze the hooks to remove the trousers and the hanger remains on the clothes pole.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 a second embodiment 40 of a hanger of the invention is depicted. Hanger 40 is similar in construction to hanger except that each gripper comprises three gripper sections 42, 42a, (not shown), 44 and 44a, and 46 and 46a (not shown). Hanger accomplishes the same results as hanger 20. However, the hanger uses less plastic material, and is particularly adapted for hanging lighter weight garments such as skirts and the like, which do not require a great amount of gripping action as do trousers, which are heavier in weight. Furthermore, the lighter weight garment can be easily adjusted and pulled taut along the three grippers as desired.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, there is depicted another type of gripping surface than the one shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The gripping surfaces 50 and 51 of grippers 52 and 54, respectively, comprise a plurality of round, small, protuberances 56 on each gripper surface, spaced in a grid pattern relationship to each other on each surface, whereby the protuberances engage the opposite surfaces and not each other when the grippers 52 and 54 are in engagement. The arrangement of protuberances 56 provides a positive gripping action on garments.

In FIGS. 9-11, a third embodiment 60 of a hanger of the invention is depicted. Hanger 60 comprises a pair of vertical, parallel hooks 61 and 62, respective vertical members 63 and 64, which join respective parallel horizontal members 65 and 66. At each end of horizontal members 65 and 66, gripping devices (similar to the yoke 26 and grippers of embodiments 20 and 40) 67 and 68 are provided. Each device, such as 68, comprises a yoke of generally curved, cross-sectional configuration having a thin midpoint 69 with grippers 70 and 71. Gripper device 67 is similar in all respects to gripper device 68 and comprises a yoke 69a, and grippers 70a and 71a. The gripping surfaces shown in this embodiment (which can also be used in the other embodiments) comprise flat surfaces 72 and 73 of gripper 68 and surfaces 72a and 73a of gripper 67, having disposed on each surface, by suitable means, a gripping material 74 and 75, such as felt or Velcro (Velcro is a registered trademark of the Velcro Corporation).

In use, hanger 60 provides a positive gripping action at the ends of the hanger suitable for hanging skirts and trousers, whereby each end of the cuffs of trousers, for example, are easily inserted in the respective gripper devices, which are opened by squeezing hooks 61 and 62. Hanger 60 is a simplified embodiment of hangers 20 and 40 wherein less plastic material is required in its construction, albeit providing less gripping action than hangers 20 and 40.

In FIGS. 12 and 13, a fourth embodiment of a hanger of this invention is depicted. Hanger 80 comprises a single unitary hook 81 and vertical member 82 having a knob end 83 connected by suitable means such as through a hole 84 to a yoke 85. Yoke 85 is a generally arcuate or curved cross-sectional configuration having the heretofore described spring action and somewhat thickened portions 86 and 87 where the yoke is connected to gripper devices generally shown by the numerals 88 and 89 at each end. Each gripper device 88 and 89 comprises a pair of upwardly and outwardly angled squeeze arms 90 and 91, joined to yoke 85, and a pair of grippers 92 and 93 of the types described heretofore. Hanger 80 is used by inserting the ends of trouser cuffs, or a skirt, at each end of the hanger, by first inserting one end of the cuffs between the grippers 92 and 93 of gripper device 89 by squeezing the upper parts of arms 90 and 91 to open the grippers, and thereafter similarly between the grippers of gripping device 88. The separate gripping action of gripping devices 88 and 89 permit smoothing and pulling taut of the cuffs or skirt between the gripping devices.

In FIGS. 14, 15 and 16, a fifth embodiment of the hanger of the invention is depicted. Hanger 100 comprises a hook 101 adapted to be connected by suitable means to a yoke device 102. As shown, the end 103 of the hook is a knob which retains the hook, after it has been inserted through the leading end 1013 in hole 104 of the yoke. Yoke 102 has the spring action described heretofore and has a looped configuration with grippers 105 and 106 at each end having gripping surfaces 105a and 106a. The yoke 102 has two cut-out sections 107 and 108 having upper edges 109 and 1 10 respectively, which are rectangular in configuration at the portion of the yoke where the loop of the yoke crosses itself and forms a loop. The grippers 105 and 106 are opened by squeezing a midportion of the loop as shown. The upper horizontal edges 109 and 110 of the rectangular cut-out sections act as stops when the grippers are opened. Hanger 100 is used similarly as the previously described hangers to hang trousers or skirts by simply squeezing the yoke and inserting the garment between the grippers 105 and 106.

All of the above described hanger embodiments can be easily manufactured or fabricated from plastic materials by any of the usual methods which are suitable or applicable, such as, injection molding, extrusion, or calendering; but the design itself would in many cases dictate the final choice. Thus, a given part may be hotstamped out of a calendered sheet, then post-formed into the final shape. Or, a continuous extrusion may be cut into individual hanger components for final assembly. Certain parts, such as the hook, may be most easily formed by injection molding. The spring action of the yoke, and its requirement that sufficient gripping action be supplied to the grippers, requires plastic materials having specific properties which are available on the market. Particularly suitable because of their low cost are PVC (polyvinylchloride), ABS (acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene), PS (polystyrene), PE (polyethylene), and PP (polypropylene). All of these offer a wide range of properties and processing characteristics making them desirable for fabrication into the articles of this invention. Besides the advantage of being low-cost resins, each of these is capable of modification by the incorporation of suitable additives, fillers, or reinforcing agents well known in the trade to enable one to achieve any combination of properties desired in the final plastic part. For example, the stiffness of PP can be greatly increased by the incorporation of suitable fillers shown at 28a in FIG. 1) such as glass fibers, talc, or asbestos. The tensile strength and the rigidity of PE, especially the high density PEs, can be readily increased by the addition of reinforcing fillers such as clay or glass fibers. Although PVC possesses one of the best combinations of stiffness and impact strength among the plastics, its properties can be further modified by incorporating glass or thermoplastic fibers, or asbestos fibers (shown at 46a in FIG. 5) to increase dimensional stability. Following is a listing of the filler types which can be used with the plastics in this invention:

TYPE EXAMPLES Silicates Glass Calcium carbonate Metallic oxides Inorganic compounds Metal powders Carbon Cellulosic fillers Comminuted polymers The following is a listing of fibrous reinforcement for plastics useful in this invention:

TYPE EXAMPLES Cellulose Rayon, jute, cotton flock -cellulose Asbestos Carbon Fibrous glass Filaments, glass fabric, yarn strand Polyamide (Nylon), polyester (Dacron); polyacrylonitrile (Orlon polyvinyl alcohol Synthetic fibers Metallic fibers, whiskers Although plastic materials are preferred and are excellently suitable in the manufacture of the hangers of this invention, it is also contemplated that other materials can be used. Thus, metal which possess a spring action can be used for the yoke devices and the grippers and hooks can be assembled thereto. Suitable metals include steel, aluminum, and the like. Hanger embodiment 100 is particularly adaptable for manufacture out of a metal. Thus, the hanger could be stamped from a metal and the loop being formed by bringing the two gripper ends around each other to engage the cut-out portions.

The gripper surfaces described with the various embodiments are all suitable for use with each hanger embodiment. In addition, it is also contemplated that certain combinations can be used with two grippers. Thus, the surfaces shown in FIGS. 4 or 7 could either be used in combination with an opposing surface of velcro material.

Having now described the invention in specific detail and exemplified the manner in which it may be carried into practice, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that innumerable variations, applications, modifications, and extensions of the basic principle involved may be made without departing from its spirit or scope.

What is claimed is:

1. A one-piece hanger fabricated from a plastic material for gripping and suspending a garment permitting it to hang freely comprising gripper means, spring-biasing yoke means, and combined hook and gripper separating means:

a. said gripper means comprising a pair of parallel horizontally-extending gripper members, each of said gripper members having an inwardly disposed vertical gripping surface, said gripping surface comprising a planar dimensional area having frictional gripping means, both of said gripping surfaces being normally spring-biased by said yoke means in a parallel closed contacting position;

. said spring-biasing yoke means having a spring action property and a generally arcuate form, said yoke means being above and between said gripper members and centrally disposed along a portion of the horizontal length of said gripper members, said yoke comprising a medial portion parallel to said gripper means which has .a smaller thickness than the remaining thickness of said yoke means;

. said combined hook and gripper separating means comprising a pair of separate members each extending vertically upwardly from each respective side of said yoke means and normally disposed in parallel relationship, each of said members comprising hook means at the upper extremities thereof;

d. said plastic material selected from the group consisting of polyvinylchloride, polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene,- acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, filler reinforced plastics, and fibrous reinforced plastics;

whereby said gripper members can be easily separated by squeezing said combined hook and gripper separating means to thereby enable a garment to be inserted between said gripping surfaces and to be frictionally held therebetween upon release of said combined hook and separating means.

2. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said gripping surfaces comprise parallel horizontal ridges.

3. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said gripping surfaces comprise a grid pattern of a plurality of small protuberances.

4. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said gripping sur faces comprise Velcro material. 

1. A ONE-PIECE HANGER FABRICATED FROM A PLASTIC MATERIAL FOR GRIPPING AND SUSPENDING A GARMENT PERMITTING IT TO HANG FREELY COMPRISING GRIPPER MEANS, SPRING-BIASING YOKE MEANS, AND COMBINED HOOK AND GRIPPER SEPARATING MEANS: A. SAID GRIPPER MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF PARELLEL HORIZONTALLY-EXTENDING GRIPPER MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID GRIPPER MEMBERS HAVING AN INWARDLY DISPOSED VERTICAL GRIPPING SURFACE, SAID GRIPPING SURFACE COMPRISING A PLANAR DIMENSIONAL AREA HAVING FRICTIONAL GRIPPING MEANS, BOTH OF SAID GRIPPING SURFACES BEING NORMALLY SPRING-BIASED BY SAID YOKE MEANS IN A PARALLEL CLOSED CONTACTING POSITION, B. SAID SPRING-BIASING YOKE MEANS HAVING A SPRING ACTION PROPERTY AND A GENERALLY ARCUATE FORM, SAID YOKE MEANS BEING ABOVE AND BETWEEN SAID GRIPPER MEMBERS AND CENTRALLY DISPOSED ALONG A PORTION OF THE HORIZONTAL LENGHT OF SAID GRIPPER MEMBERS, SAID YOKE COMPRISING A MEDIAL PORTION PARALLEL TO SAID GRIPPER MEANS WHICH HAS A SMALLER THICKNESS THAN THE REMAINING THICKNESS OF SAID YOKE MEANS, C. SAID COMBINED HOOK AND GRIPPER SEPARATING MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF SEPARATE MEMBERS EACH EXTENDING VERTICALLY UPWARDLY FROM EACH RESPECTIVE SIDE OF SAID YOKE MEANS AND NORMALLY DISPOSED IN PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP, EACH OF SAID MEMBERS COMPRISING HOOK MEANS AT THE UPPER EXTREMITIES THEREOF, D. SAID PLASTIC MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF POLYVINYLCHLORIDE, POLYSTYRENE, POLYETHYLENE, POLYPROPYLENE, ACRYLONTRILE-BUTADIENE-STYRENE, POLYPROPYLPLASTICS, AND FIBROUS REINFORCE PLASTICS, WHEREBY SAID GRIPPER MEMBERS CAN BE EASILY SEPARATED BY SQUEEZING SAID COMBINED HOOK AND GRIPPER SEPARATING MEANS TO THEREBY ENABLE A GARMENT TO BE INSERTED BETWEEN SAID GRIPPING SURFACES AND TO BE FRICTIONALLY HELD THEREBETWEEN UPON RELEASE OF SAID COMBINED HOOK AND SEPARATING MEANS.
 2. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said gripping surfaces comprise parallel horizontal ridges.
 3. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said gripping surfaces comprise a grid pattern of a plurality of small protuberances.
 4. The hanger of claim 1 wherein said gripping surfaces comprise Velcro materIal. 